12 SMART reasons to
retire in Winnipeg
Why would anyone choose to retire in Winnipeg?
A strong and diversified economy, political stability, good job and career prospects, (especially in high tech and trades), good schools, abundant water, fresh air -- these are among the reasons that Winnipeg appeals to people of all ages.
But why move here when you're retiring?
1. Attractive Housing Costs
Winnipeg Real Estate
is a very good deal.
You get more space and amenities for less money, particularly if you want to live a bit further from downtown.
What this means is that if you own a home elsewhere, and especially if that is in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver, you could sell up and potentially retire in Winnipeg years sooner than would have been possible elsewhere, with the ability to own a similar home here AND have the surplus from the sale of your former house in the bank or invested, or allowing you more lifestyle options, such as travel.
Is a condo right for you? Take this easy quiz
2. Restaurants in delicious abundance
We love to eat out and do so often –it’s one of the real pleasures of living in Winnipeg.
Part of the appeal is that Winnipeg has so MANY great
restaurants,
featuring just about every possible cuisine. Even dining out often, we will never get to all the places I’d love to try, partly because favourites keep luring us back.
Fine dining,
ethnic,
buffets,
and
all-you-can-eat restaurants
plus patio restaurants,
great bars and pubs,
Fall suppers
and dinner theatre--the eating out array in Winnipeg is just about infinite.
And affordable. My friend Tracy, who lives and works in downtown Toronto, was recently back to visit (she grew up here) and she was amazed when the bill arrived after we stopped for an afternoon drink at one of the city’s lounges.
It was, she said, less than half what she would expect to pay for a couple of glasses of wine at any of her favourite haunts in downtown Toronto. She couldn’t stop explaining about it, until she got her hotel bill (she stayed at the lovely
Fort Garry Hotel.
Same thing. Great value. Incredible, she said, compared to Toronto prices. She ended up staying a couple of days longer than she originally intended (then her office called. It seems they really, really missed her. But, she says, she’ll be back.)
3. Affordability – Retire in Winnipeg because it costs less
Property tax is comparatively low here, too (for example, the tax on our own two-bedroom condo works out to $69 per month). If you prefer to rent, many buildings have rent control keeping costs down.
Auto insurance is another good deal because it is provincially-controlled, and therefore costs less than we have paid elsewhere in the past (last year every insured driver in the province received a refund cheque from Manitoba Public Insurance when it found it simply had too much in capital reserves).
As is true everywhere in Canada there is provincial health insurance; here residents also can qualify for subsidized prescription costs (based on household income).
It’s true that groceries cost a bit more here, especially for items that have to be trucked in or come by rail, such as fruit and veg (mainly it comes from California or Mexico) and convenience foods packaged elsewhere in Canada.
It’s possible to economize by buying staples in bulk and eating locally.
You could eat well here on a hundred-mile diet. It would include premium pork and beef, bison, chicken, turkey, fish, honey, milk (and milk products such as yoghurt and ice cream), cheese, potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, wild rice, flour, gourmet canola oil, local beers, maple syrup, Saskatoon berries and blueberries and herbs but no wine, tea, coffee, sugar, chocolate, or apples and very little other fruit.
It is also possible to economize and still enjoy Winnipeg restaurants. Plenty of places offer 55-plus of seniors menus (with more manageable portions), specials (particularly during the week and for lunch),
buffets
and you also save money at
all you can eat restaurants.
Attractions
and events also often offer seniors discounts.
4. Retire in Winnipeg for Culture, and plenty of it!
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Manitoba Opera, several theatre companies (including two producing plays for children), live music in every style, year-round
Festivals
PLUS
events
(many of them free or cheap) at libraries, parks, bookstores, shopping malls and the universities mean there is no need to suffer cabin fever (unless, of course, you choose to hibernate).
Winnipeg has been declared Canada’s cultural Hot Spot for 2010 – meaning that there will be even more to get out and enjoy!
5. Cottage country – close and still affordable if you retire in Winnipeg
If owning a cottage, or renting one, is on your retirement wish list, cottage country is close to Winnipeg and, better yet, it is still within the economic reach of almost anyone.
It is still possible to find a two- or three-bedroom re-sale cottage than is less than two hours from town for under $100,000; add another $50,000 to $100,000 if you must have waterfront.
Prefer to rent? Expect to pay in the $800 to $1,100 range per week for a waterfront cabin in July and August and a bit less in May, June and September.
6. Winnipeg is easy to get around
Getting around
is comparitively easy in Winnipeg. If you drive, you can get pretty much anywhere from anywhere else in half an hour or so. Traffic (with the exception of 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays downtown and on major arteries such as Pembina, Regent and Henderson Highway) is rare.
And flat is a BIG advantage to drivers, as I know from living in Vancouver and, before that, in hilly Pennsylvania for a time years ago.
Winter driving in Winnipeg does involve snow and sometimes black ice, but it is a lot easier to cope when it doesn’t ALSO involve hills. No-fault insurance also takes some of the angst out of winter driving and the hassle of fender-benders.
7. Retire in Winnipeg because it's on the doorstep of nature
If your interest is birding, walking or hiking, and whether you want to see deer and other animals in their natural environment or just want to get out and walk the dog, Winnipeg has parks, river walks and green spaces in every part of the city.
Nearby there are beaches, provincial and national parks and wildlife areas (in both Manitoba and western Ontario) with year-round opportunities to enjoy the natural world.
When we first came here, my husband and I drove out onto the Prairie (my idea). “There’s nothing here,” he complained. “It’s all just empty space.” It happened to be early April, so there were the last few patches of snow on the ground, some bare fields, a cloudless expanse of cool blue sky overhead, a small flock of Canada geese flying overhead, honking their return, and a farmhouse in the distance. Hardly nothing!
We sat, listening to the silence, broken only by the sound of the geese and the passing cars.
“So,” he said after a few minutes. “Should we head back? Seen enough?”
No, I hadn’t and still haven't. The fact is, the Prairies is a great expanse of space – big sky, endless to the distant horizon in every direction — but it is far from empty. It and the wildlife that live here have a beauty and grandeur all their own. Prairie people do as well, though it’s seldom talked about.
The times I have seen traffic come to a complete stop, with drivers who’d rather be elsewhere waiting patiently so that goose parents and their large families could amble across the highway; the cold nights when we’ve gone outside to see the dancing Northern Lights, the stars so close it seems you could touch them from our balcony; the time I was stopped at a red light and a magnificent stag leapt across the street, vanishing into the park on the opposite side while I and other astonished drivers watched in amazement (DO city deer understand stop lights?), the bizarre sight of mating garter snakes at Narcisse – these are encounters with the natural world that are among the most moving and fascinating things I have ever witnessed. Magical!
8. Retire in Winnipeg for the golf, fishing, hunting, skating, cross-crountry skiing, hiking – and plenty more outdoor leisure opportunities!
Retire in Winnipeg and you will never find yourself with nothing interesting to do!
One of the best skateboard parks in North America, (good for when the grandchildren visit), fishing and ice-fishing in town and at nearby lakes and rivers, cross-country and snowmobile trails,
skating
and for something a little edgier, sky-diving, lake diving, sailing, rock-climbing and even downhill skiing are all accessible activities if you choose to retire in Winnipeg.
9. AND plenty of indoor advantages for people who are 55-plus!
Community centres and pools, seniors’ centres,
YMCA/YWCA of Winnipeg
with four branches and Winnipeg Public Library and its community branches offer plenty of fitness and leisure programming for people who retire in Winnipeg.
There are also courses and seminars on gardening, cooking, and a raft of other interests and hobbies offered by the City and at the six universities and Red River College.
University of Winnipeg offers special-interest courses (lots of discussion; no exams!) tailored to the interests of people who are 55-plus (this is where you can brush up your Shakespeare or pursue what you REALLY should have majored in).
10. Not to mention all the volunteering opportunities if you retire in Winnipeg!
One of the things that struck me when we first moved here is the extensive social net. This is a caring community that has groups and charities for pretty much any cause that matches your interests and abilities, and new volunteers are welcomed with enthusiasm (it’s also a great way to make new friends and start to feel at home in your new community).
Do you need extra income? Or have you always wanted to start your own business, perhaps home-based? I have found Winnipeg to be a business-friendly city, with plenty of help available for business start-up.
11. And when you want to get away, that’s easy too…
In the past few years my husband or I (or both of us) have been to Mexico, Florida, Halifax, Vancouver, Ottawa, Denver, Las Vegas and San Diego, Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Sounds like a lot, but we do love to travel and want to do a lot more. As a point of departure, Winnipeg works.
Winnipeg seems to have the reputation that it is remote from everywhere; in fact it is at the centre of Canada and the city closest to the centre of North America.
Retire in Winnipeg and you'll be able to fly direct to most major cities in Canada and the U.S. including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orlando.
In winter there are direct flights from Winnipeg to various southern destinations such as Cancun in Mexico and several Caribbean destinations including Cuba.
If you love to travel (but need to economize), comparatively cheap living in Winnipeg for the rest of the year helps make it doable.
12. Retire in Winnipeg because this is a safe place to live
It seems Winnipeg is only ever in the national spotlight when there has been some horrific tragedy. As is also true elsewhere, there are parts of the city where it is not sensible to live at any age if you can avoid it; this is generally reflected in the price. (And if you need budget housing there are better, safer options).
The truth is there are good, safe and pleasant streets and neighbourhoods in every sector of the city. If you choose to retire in Winnipeg, you can find good housing, either to purchase or rent in almost every part of the city and nearby townships, with just a few parts of town you might be wiser to avoid.
In general, the rougher areas are on and near Main Street north of Portage, the streets of mostly shabby older houses close to University of Winnipeg's Portage Ave. campus (but you don't plan to retire in Winnipeg and live in studentville, do you?) and the parts of the North End and West End nearest downtown.
Go from retire in Winnipeg to consider your Housing options
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